I was tested using the Bowen Q-RiBb test. The Bowen Q-RiBb test is done using serum dilutions. The results are presented as a "quantitative reported
value" within a range from 1:2 to 1:128. The higher the 2nd number, the more severe the infection (or concentration of bacteria), as I understand it.
My reported value is 1:128, the highest number you can get. :storm
It looks like it will be a few more days until I receive a hard copy of my test results. If I find I have made any errors here, I will come back and edit my post.
I also had Bowen test for two Lyme co-infections, Babesia and Erlichia, and those tests were both negative. They also tested for something called pathogenic(I think?) E-Coli, and that was also negative.
Writing this post has been very difficult for me. What can I possibly say that might help others decide to get tested for Lyme?
Perhaps you think you have never been bitten by a deer tick so could not have Lyme? Well, I don't know if I was ever bitten either. Maybe you think that since you live in a country or state where there are few reported cases of Lyme that you couldn't have it? Well, the only 3 states I have ever lived have some of the lowest incidences of Lyme Disease in the U.S.A., according to the CDC website. Could it be that you think you don't have enough symptoms of Lyme to warrant being tested? Well, I didn't think so either, but what I have are fairly severe and getting worse. Are you comfortable with your current diagnosis (es)? I wasn't. Do you think that since your doctor has not considered Lyme to be a possibility in your case that Lyme doesn't warrant your consideration? Let me just say that 3 of the 5 tests I have had in the past 13 years that showed problems were tests that I had to ask for myself. This test was one of them. My doctors had no clue.
Let's be perfectly blunt here…….. do you want to end up with Lupus or MS down the road because you have had undiagnosed, untreated Lyme for so long? Even my PC doctor is aware enough to know the consequences of chronic Lyme.
After coming to this support board (and others) for about a year, I finally decided to bite the bullet and get tested. I would like to give a big thanks to Kit and all of you who have posted about your experiences here. One of Kit's posts just happens to be the first one I saw that got me started doing more research about Lyme Disease. I'm sure many of you wonder if anybody ever reads your posts and is helped by them. Well, let me assure you that I read a lot of posts here, although sometimes it takes awhile for the information to sink in. And too often I am not well enough to say thanks to the people that post here.
Frankly, I have to tell you, I was in shock when I was first told the results of my test, and I had to struggle to take a few notes because my mind was racing all over the place. Prior to finding out the results of the test, I had been feeling like an idiot for even asking my ND to do the test! Imagine my amazement when he told me my test results were the highest he had ever seen. I didn't even want to post about this until I got a copy of the test results - I guess I still don't believe that after all the years of getting tested, one very important test actually came back positive.
It is hard to describe what I am feeling about this. Suffice it to say that to those of you who have tried desperately without success to find what may be causing or contributing to your illness, do not give up!!! Especially if you are considering being tested for Lyme. And even if you have had a previous negative test for Lyme.
It looks like I will be on my own regarding treatment, at least at this point. That may change. I may post about my treatment later when it begins to come together.
I will post another topic about the Bowen test.
This Christmas/Holiday Season, I would like to express my deep gratitude to the founders, administrators and moderators of this board for all that they have done to provide a place for people like me to come and be a part of something positive. And to the members and other contributors here, thank you all for your willingness to share your experiences, ideas, and thoughts with others. To each of you, I wish you a very Merry Christmas (or spiritual equivalent) and best wishes for your future.
Tracy
My reported value is 1:128, the highest number you can get. :storm
It looks like it will be a few more days until I receive a hard copy of my test results. If I find I have made any errors here, I will come back and edit my post.
I also had Bowen test for two Lyme co-infections, Babesia and Erlichia, and those tests were both negative. They also tested for something called pathogenic(I think?) E-Coli, and that was also negative.
Writing this post has been very difficult for me. What can I possibly say that might help others decide to get tested for Lyme?
Perhaps you think you have never been bitten by a deer tick so could not have Lyme? Well, I don't know if I was ever bitten either. Maybe you think that since you live in a country or state where there are few reported cases of Lyme that you couldn't have it? Well, the only 3 states I have ever lived have some of the lowest incidences of Lyme Disease in the U.S.A., according to the CDC website. Could it be that you think you don't have enough symptoms of Lyme to warrant being tested? Well, I didn't think so either, but what I have are fairly severe and getting worse. Are you comfortable with your current diagnosis (es)? I wasn't. Do you think that since your doctor has not considered Lyme to be a possibility in your case that Lyme doesn't warrant your consideration? Let me just say that 3 of the 5 tests I have had in the past 13 years that showed problems were tests that I had to ask for myself. This test was one of them. My doctors had no clue.
Let's be perfectly blunt here…….. do you want to end up with Lupus or MS down the road because you have had undiagnosed, untreated Lyme for so long? Even my PC doctor is aware enough to know the consequences of chronic Lyme.
After coming to this support board (and others) for about a year, I finally decided to bite the bullet and get tested. I would like to give a big thanks to Kit and all of you who have posted about your experiences here. One of Kit's posts just happens to be the first one I saw that got me started doing more research about Lyme Disease. I'm sure many of you wonder if anybody ever reads your posts and is helped by them. Well, let me assure you that I read a lot of posts here, although sometimes it takes awhile for the information to sink in. And too often I am not well enough to say thanks to the people that post here.
Frankly, I have to tell you, I was in shock when I was first told the results of my test, and I had to struggle to take a few notes because my mind was racing all over the place. Prior to finding out the results of the test, I had been feeling like an idiot for even asking my ND to do the test! Imagine my amazement when he told me my test results were the highest he had ever seen. I didn't even want to post about this until I got a copy of the test results - I guess I still don't believe that after all the years of getting tested, one very important test actually came back positive.
It is hard to describe what I am feeling about this. Suffice it to say that to those of you who have tried desperately without success to find what may be causing or contributing to your illness, do not give up!!! Especially if you are considering being tested for Lyme. And even if you have had a previous negative test for Lyme.
It looks like I will be on my own regarding treatment, at least at this point. That may change. I may post about my treatment later when it begins to come together.
I will post another topic about the Bowen test.
This Christmas/Holiday Season, I would like to express my deep gratitude to the founders, administrators and moderators of this board for all that they have done to provide a place for people like me to come and be a part of something positive. And to the members and other contributors here, thank you all for your willingness to share your experiences, ideas, and thoughts with others. To each of you, I wish you a very Merry Christmas (or spiritual equivalent) and best wishes for your future.
Tracy
USA
California US
EB Girl, I
totally agree with you. Exposure to Lyme or other
pathogens doesn't always translate into an infection or a
disease. It appears that it is when the immune system
gets compromised, even for a relatively short period of
time, that the pathogen that was already there increases
in number and crosses some kind of threshhold and the
immune system then can't ever catch up and manage it
again after that. Especially stealth pathogens that can
hide from the immune system. I suspect I may have picked
up the Lyme organism when I was a kid - lots of ticks
attached to me but I remember them all being the bigger
ticks, not the little deer ticks. I don't think I have
ever seen a deer tick! So I will probably never know...
